Sept. 4, 2007
Box Score
Chicago, Ill. - Despite an impressive comeback, the UIC volleyball (3-4) team fell to Eastern Illinois in five games (21-30, 17-30, 30-22, 30-23, 8-15) on Tuesday night in its home opener. Senior Amanda Kenny was two digs shy of a double-double with a team-high 16 kills and eight digs.
Exploding after game two, Kenny scored 14 of those 16 kills in the final three games. Sophomore Lana Lobdell led UIC with a .267 attack percentage and added five blocks on the night.
Freshman Taylor Szatkowski recorded a season- and team-best 20 digs, while setter Dana Van Syckle added a season-best 12 against the Panthers. Junior Christin Hunt powered UIC at the net with a career-high eight blocks and notched 13 kills.
Eastern Illinois freshman Kelsey Orr led the squad with 15 kills, 14 digs and a .357 attack percentage. Senior Alex Zwettler notched a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. The outside hitter also recorded a team-best six service aces.
The Panthers posted a .239 clip with 21 kills to take an early 1-0 advantage (30-21) in game one. Eastern Illinois grabbed game two (30-17) after holding UIC to a -.025 attack percentage.
Despite a two-game deficit, the Flames refused to go quietly. UIC jumped out to an impressive 11-4 lead in game three. Kenny totaled eight kills and a .500 attack percentage to get the Flames back into the match with a 30-22 victory.
The Flames continued their spark with a .273 attack percentage in game four. It remained close until UIC recorded an 8-3 run (21-14) to guide them to a 30-23 victory and force the match into a fifth and final game.
Eastern Illinois punched out three quick points to take the early lead. The Flames cut the deficit to four points (8-4), but were unable to push ahead as the Panthers notched the match victory (15-8).
"We fought hard tonight and did some really good things," said head coach Nancy Mueller. "We identified where we need to make some corrections and we will fix those in practice, but I am proud of our team."
The Flames host the 2007 UIC Invitational on Friday, Sept. 7-8. The tournament features Elon, McNeese State and North Dakota State. The Flames kick off the event in a 7:00 p.m. matchup against NDSU on Friday night.
